e-services (electronic services)

E-services, a business concept developed by Hewlett Packard (HP), is the idea that the World Wide Web is moving beyond e-business and e-commerce (that is, completing sales on the Web) into a new phase where many business services can be provided for a business or consumer using the Web. Some e-services, such as remote bulk printing, may be done at a Web site; other e-services, such as news updates to subscribers, may be sent to your computer. Other e-services will be done in the background without the customer's immediate knowledge. HP defines e-services as "modular, nimble, electronic services that perform work, achieve tasks, or complete transactions."

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Using HP's e-services concept, any application program or information resource is a potential e-service and Internet service providers (ISPs) and other companies are logical distributors or access points for such services. The e-services concept also sees services being built into "cars, networked devices, and virtually anything that has a microchip in it." HP's vision is that IT departments will increasingly address their needs in a modular way so that individual modules can potentially be addressed by some e-service.

HP notes three trends:

1. The increasing availability of "apps-on-tap" - for accounting, payment systems, purchasing, and enterprise resource planning (ERP). (HP offers several of these services.)
2. An increase in the number of specialized Web portal sites such as OpenSkies (travel services) and Ariba.com's e-procurement services.
3. More on-the-fly handling of service requests that may require handling by several companies.

HP sees its e-speak application development facilities as supporting e-services. Also see application service provider (ASP).